I have an open question about Rick Santorum. Is it scarier that:
A.) He was so stupid that he ran his mouth like this, without realizing the firestorm he would create.
B.) He might actually be a full-fledged bigot.
I would argue A, because bigots are pretty predictable. You never know what stupid people will do. And that is scary.
JKC
Actually, John, the correct answer is C: Both A & B.
Bigotry always implies a bit of stupidity, or at least ingnorance. Given that Santorum has not lived in a cave his whole life, his ignorance strikes me as willful.
Nick
Stupidity seems like an extremely unlikely trait of a US Senator (Carol Moseley-Braun excepted). I’m also not exactly sure that he is a bigot. I’ve pointed out on my own blog, that as ludicrous as these laws seem to be, the government IS in the business of marriage. And most people seem to be just fine with this. Thus, why should they be surprised when the government seeks to regulate marriage?
Mike the Analyst
He personally believes that homosexuality is wrong, and people involved in that lifestyle are hurting themselves and society. He also believes that such people should not receive special protection under the law and that should they choose to live that lifestyle, they do it at their own risk.
If you define someone like that as stupid, then choose ‘A’. If you define someone like that as a bigot, then choose ‘B’. Since the argument can be made (like JKC) that all bigots are stupid (and vice versa) you’re not really asking a question are you?
John Cole
Mike- The question is then- Why does he think homosexualtiy hurts society?
jaboobie
wasn’t he just stating what the Supremem Court already decided?
As a senator I think he could have chosen his words more carefully, after all, that is the art of the politician, is it not?
Personally, I think they should leave it up to the states. Let the market decided. Let the people of the states choose what kind of states they want.
Steve Teeter
Mike, Mike, the question isn’t special protection under the law, it’s special harrassment. As in, sleep with your boyfriend in Texas and you’re a girl, nobody cares. Sleep with your boyfriend and you’re a boy, get arrested and fined. That’s what Santorum’s in favor of.
Incidentally, the law in New Mexico was just changed. It used to be (worst case scenario), if you’re a boy and sleep with your boyfriend and get caught, you get thrown into a prison full of inmates who know perfectly well what you’re in for, and get raped regularly for ten years.
Now it’s twenty.
Mike the Analyst
John-
I can’t say exactly why – although if he bases it on the teachings of the Catholic Church it would be as follows:
2357. “Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,[Cf. Gen 191-29 ; Rom 124-27 ; 1 Cor 6:10 ; 1 Tim 1:10 .] tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.'[CDF, Persona humana 8.] They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”
2358. “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. ”
2359. “Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection. ”
(from the Catechism of the Catholic Church)